Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction.

Season Three Episode One: "Suspicions" Chapter Two

While Susan Vandom slept, before the nightmare even started, Will had been awakened by a tapping sound on her window. Grumbling about needing sleep, she rose and opened the sash to find Blunk on the fire escape. This was usually bad news, so she was wide awake in an instant. "What's wrong?" She whispered. "Phobos escape, evil sentient math tests, what?"

"Queen Elyon still having trouble with her powers." Blunk also whispered. "She go to see Oracle, ask Blunk to bring Guardians to Kandrakar too."

"Thank you Blunk. You go ahead and meet up with Elyon. I'll wake the girls up and fold us there."

While Blunk opened a fold to Kandrakar and disappeared into it, Will closed her eyes and sent a thought to Taranee. "Wake up!"

"Huh wha-" Came the sleep-disjointed reply.

"Wake everyone up and tell them to meet us at the dragon." Will thought. "We're going to Kandrakar."

"Wonderful."

Susan sat in bed reading Will's diary. At first she only meant to read far enough to confirm or deny her suspicions. Once she started though, she couldn't stop. This was such bizarre stuff. Alien worlds, magic, superpowers. Elyon a queen! Elyon! Susan would have laughed if she wasn't so scared for Will. She didn't believe what she was reading. Rather, she thought this must confirm her fears.

She knew the story couldn't be true. Yet clearly Will did believe it. Which meant she must be involved in some kind of illicit drug use. Something that made her hallucinate these crazy "WITCH" stories. Tears were at the edge of her eyes, but she didn't allow them to fall. She had to be strong for her daughter. Searching for clues, Susan turned the page and continued reading…

Kandrakar. As the last of the Guardians stepped through, the fold back to earth closed behind her. "Watch it Will." Cornelia said. "You'll cut off my hair closing it that fast. Make sure I'm all the way through first."

"Sorry Corny. I'm still half asleep here."

Cornelia glared at Will for calling her by that hated nickname, but held her tongue. Lately she had decided she was probably being a little too short with her friends, given all they had gone through together. "Just don't do it again." She said.

Elyon was waiting for them. She ran to hug Cornelia, then welcomed the others. She punched Cornelia in the arm. "Where have you been? I've not seen you in a month!"

"Don't blame me, Will's the only one in this group who can open folds." said Cornelia.

Will looked down. "Sorry Elyon. It's just, with everything that happened in the whole Nerissia incident, I thought we should do our best to not disappear on our parents for awhile. Blunk said you were having power troubles?"

Elyon then looked sadder than any of the girls had ever seen her. "Troubles is an understatement. Nothing has come back. Nothing! I've got the little bit I managed to bring out of Nerissia's crystal prison with me. That's it."

All five Guardians gathered close around their friend, hands on her shoulders. "That's awful." said Hay Lin. "Bummer" contributed Irma. Cornelia turned Elyon to face her. "What are you gonna do?"

"That's why I'm here. I'm hoping the Oracle can shed some light on the situation. And…" Elyon paused for a moment. "And you guys are here, well, I know I shouldn't have gotten you out of bed, but… Something tells me I'm going to need some support. Something tells me it's gonna be bad news."

"If it's gonna be bad news, then let's get it over with." Cornelia said. Together they walked towards the Oracle's chambers.

Aljax walked the aisle, checking on the mindquavers. Susan Vandom was awake now, so they were resting and reenergizing for the next time she dozed off. Of course, it might not be necessary to use them again. She was reading the diary after all.

As Aljax examined the last quaver, the Dark Queen's emissary approached him. "Hail Neera, Queen of Darkness!" The emissary said. Aljax repeated the standard salute back to him.

"The Queen requests an update."

"Tell her this," Aljax began, "The woman Susan has responded to the implanted nightmares exactly as expected. As we speak, she is reading the Quintessence Guardian's personal memories."

"Excellent Aljax. What is the next step?" Asked the emissary.

"As we project it, there are two possible outcomes, both of which serve our needs. First, the woman may simply believe what she has read. If so, then that is all we need. But this is unlikely. Far more likely is that she will mistake the writings as proof of the fear we put into her dream."

"But this false belief also works in our favor? How?"

"It's simple. All we need to safely attack and capture the Guardian's mother is her knowledge of the truth. If she believes the diary, that counts. If she does not believe it, she will instead believe the dream. This will cause her to follow the girl in search of proof.

And then she will see the truth with her own eyes."

"The Queen will be pleased." said the emissary. "I take my leave to return to her."

Kandrakar. The Oracle looked up, a smile on his face, as the girls approached. "Welcome Queen Elyon! Welcome Guardians!"

"You know why we've come?" Elyon asked.

The smile faded, but did not entirely disappear. "Indeed I do. You are wondering why your full powers have not returned."

Hay Lin asked, "Do you know? Can you help her?"

The Oracle replied, "Yes, to the first question. A qualified yes to the second. Put simply your highness, the majority of your power is still contained within the crystal Nerissia placed it in. I could return the power to you, but…

Elyon saw where the Oracle was going. "But if you did, it would disrupt the crystal and free Nerissia."

"Yes."

The five Guardians looked at each other, then Elyon and the Oracle. "Are you telling us there's no way to give Elyon her powers back? Cornelia demanded. She was clearly angry.

"I am truly sorry. Bear in mind however, that for every loss there is a counterbalancing gain. Queen Elyon, right now you see only pain in this loss. Yet I swear to you on all the power of Kandrakar that what you have lost is nothing compared to what you will gain in it's place."

Elyon's mood improved a touch when she heard this. "What do you mean?" She asked.

The Oracle started to reply, but got no further than "I" before all six girls answered for him "I cannot tell you now, all will be revealed in time." He chuckled softly. "I do say that a lot don't I?"

"You're like a broken record" Irma quipped.